LAYTON – Layton-based soccer club La Roca FC has formed a partnership with Champions League soccer club Borussia Dortmund.

The deal, which is the second known in Utah after Bountiful’s Forza Futbol Club aligned with Sheffield Wednesday of England, is designed to help the development of youth soccer in the state.

The resulting partnership will also help the German soccer club have a connection with a local soccer base in the state.

La Roca is the second club in the deal that also includes Cincinnatti United, an Ohio-based soccer club.

“To have a relationship with a club of this magnitude is extraordinary,” said Adolfo Ovalle, founder and director of La Roca, in a press release sent to the Clipper. “Since forming La Roca, we have sought to pass on the best training and coaching methods to our coaches and players. BVB will take us to another level.”

PUMA, a sports clothing company that provides La Roca with equipment and supplies, also got in on the action in terms of the partnership. According to a release sent by La Roca, the partnership is part of PUMA’s Total Club Concept program, joining the top PUMA teams in the U.S. with other soccer clubs around the world.

The new affiliation with BVB will include newsletter updates to players and their parents, training and drill tips for the coaches, annual training with coaches from both clubs and an annual all-star game for players.

“The youth academies in Europe are the best in the world, and BVB is one of the biggest clubs in Europe with a history of producing Germany’s top soccer talent,” said Ovalle. “We look forward to a long relationship of learning and sharing as we jointly endeavor to raise the level and quality of our youth soccer program.”

BVB held a tour that included a visit to both its new partnerships clubs and had BVB coaches Markus Pasdzior and Christian Diercks host training sessions at La Roca with both players and coaches.

The partnership also comes at approximately the same time as having former La Roca players sign professional contracts with other teams.

Sebastian Saucedo, a former La Roca player, signed a contract to play for Utah’s Real Salt Lake. He is the first Utahn to sign a professional contract to play for RSL.

Other signings include Mikey Orellana playing with Denmark’s Brondby FC, Fito Ovalle playing with the reserve squad of RSL and training with the Under-20 team of Chile, and numberous players signing with colleges across the country.

Borussia Dortmund has won eight German championships, three German Cups, and is the first German club to win a European trophy and a UEFA Champions League trophy, doing so in 1966 and 1997 respectively.